The Deputy Mayor of Crowborough has been given a “sincere apology” from Tesco after he and his guide dog were asked to leave the Jarvis Brook store.
Cllr Paul Goddard said the incident at the store in March was embarrassing and frustrating, and to make matters worse, Tesco was ignoring his complaint.
Speaking to Crowborough News, Cllr Goddard, who is registered blind and has a guide dog, Stevie, said: “I went into the store to hold a surgery and meet shoppers. While I was waiting to speak to customer services to let them know I was there, the security guard tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to leave because Tesco has a no dog policy.”
Stevie clearly a guide dog
Cllr Goddard said he explained to the guard that while he understood the no dog policy, by law it doesn’t apply to guide dogs. “I explained to him I need my guide dog to live. Stevie was clearly identified as a guide dog with the harness and the official markings but the security guard was having none of it.”
Fortunately, the store’s customer service assistant became free and was able to intervene. Cllr Goddard was able to hold his hour long councillor’s surgery.
Angry at the security guard’s attitude and lack of knowledge, Cllr Goddard contacted Guide Dogs for the Blind and they both made formal complaints – to the local store and to Tesco head office.
Heads in the sand
“I’ve heard nothing since”, Cllr Goddard said. “I think that’s terrible. Even if they had just sent me a standard lip service letter of acknowledgement, that would have been enough. I sent my letter by recorded delivery so they can’t say it didn’t arrive. They are ignoring me and are putting their heads in the sand.
“The most worrying thing is that this is happening more and more, it’s almost becoming the norm. When I first had a guide dog in 2011 I never had any problems. I think it’s because dogs are allowed so much more access in public places now, which is good, but I think shops that have no dogs rules – for very good reasons – should make sure their staff know guide dogs are an exception.”
Unacceptable
Cllr Goddard said it’s unacceptable that people who are blind or visually impaired and need a guide dog to carry out basic tasks, should have to worry about being asked to leave places. “It’s okay for me, because I’m quite happy to explain the law and I’m confident. But I worry about other perhaps less confident people with guide dogs who might not find it so easy to stand up for their rights.”
Tesco’s lack of response has made him even more determined to get the issued raised and sorted. “I want an apology from Tesco, but more importantly I want them to stop this happening. I want them to make sure all their staff – even if they are from a contracted security firm – know the law.”
Sincere apology
When Crowborough News spoke to Tesco, a spokesperson said that the company had in fact written back to Cllr Goddard but that letter had obviously gone astray. They had also now apologised and responded to Guide Dogs UK. He said the supermarket giant wanted to be a place where everyone felt welcome.
He added: “We sincerely apologise for the experience Councillor Goddard had at our Crowborough Superstore earlier this year. It is unacceptable for anyone to be challenged when entering one of our stores with a Guide Dog. We always treat complaints like this extremely seriously and asked our guarding supplier to urgently investigate to ensure that this does not happen again.”